Dr. Alampallam Venkatacalam Medical Negligence during Surgery of Total Knee Replacement , Internet

I originally found this doctor on the internet as he puts up a very good internet site and follows up with emails quickly.  I had no insurance in USA and was needing Knee Replacement to one or both my knees.  I sent my X Rays via email and he responded quickly to say they both needed replacement and he could do it for X dollars for a sports knee that he has been using on many patients.  He even gave me a few patients that just had surgery to contact.  This all sounded good and he seemed to be very competent.  Little did I know that I was headed for many problems and now it looks that I will pay for his negligence the rest of my life.

I had bilateral replacements in India one Feb 4, 2010 and the other Feb 9.  After the surgery for the first several months I had difficulty standing without dancing around and I think this was the first sign to the problem that just got worse. [continued below]....

.....  I contacted Dr. Venkatcalam on several occasions about problems with my right knee replacement only to be told it takes time so I let more time pass until I was so bad that I went for two other opinions.  Both agreed that the knee was severely unstable due to the incorrect size spacer.

 I was advised to have a surgery quickly to prevent a dislocation.  My surgery was scheduled after tests were done and there was a possibility of loosening, also.  My doctor was prepared with several sizes of spacers and a few different sizes of the prosthesis or implant that maybe loose.  The doctor reported to me after surgery that Dr. Venkatcalam did several things wrong; the bone cut was not correct, the prosthesis did not fit the bone which fell off during the surgery, the spacer used was too small.  The surgeon did what he could to repair the damage and felt I may be ok.

It was not ok and now 13 months after the second surgery, I am having to go back for another revision to the same knee. Three knee replacement to the right knee in three years.  My surgeon who did the last surgery confined with me the big problem which was that Dr. Venkatcalam butchered my knee and did not use the proper cutting blocks to prevent this nor did he have the correct size implant of spacer when this error was made.

Dr Venkatcalam performs many knee replacement surgeries at reduced rates.  He lures his clients to him assuring that he is very capable of doing the surgery.  He does not mention that the hospital is a training hospital for new doctors.  I feel my surgery was done in a training session and I am not sure who made the gross error of the bone cut.  I am upset about the doctor not having the correct cutting blocks for the surgery nor having the supplies need for this type of error available.  

I did contact Dr Venkatcalam after the second surgery to tell him of the findings.  He denied all the findings so not to be responsible.  I filed a complaint to the consumers board of India only to be sent back that I must of misunderstood  my surgeon in the USA.  No recourse!

I am now having problems also with the left knee replacement and will more that likely have to have a revision done soon.  I am sadden by my decision to go to India and trusting a foreign doctor of having the same standards of doctors in the USA.   My left knee will need a stem placed with notches inside the prosthesis to help reduce the amount of bone that was cut and lessen the thickness of the spacer.  I just hope this works and I can utilize my knee for many years.

My friends all advised me to put some type of warning on the internet so others do not make the same mistake as I did and trust Dr Venkatacalam.